Stop Guessing and Start Winning: Why Inaccurate Job Costing Will Destroy Your Construction Business

Gentry Harper
2 days ago
2 min read

You didn’t start your construction company to work 80 hours a week and still wonder where the money went. But if you're not job costing accurately — you’re doing just that.

What is Job Costing, and Why Does It Matter?

Job costing is the process of tracking all the costs associated with a specific job — materials, labor, equipment, subs, permits, and even overhead. It’s your financial blueprint for profitability.

When it’s accurate, you can:

Price jobs with confidence
Spot problems before they become cashflow killers
Protect your profit margins

When it’s inaccurate? You’re flying blind. And most construction businesses are bleeding out because they have no idea how much each project is truly costing them.

The Silent Profit Killer

Let’s be real — the invoice at the end doesn’t tell the full story.

If you:

Estimate based on guesswork
Don’t track labor hours per job
Lump expenses together
Don’t factor in overhead properly

…you’re setting yourself up to underbid or underdeliver. Either way, your business suffers.

Real Talk from the CFO’s Desk

I’ve seen 7-figure companies look “busy” on the outside, but still operate at a loss. Why? Because they had no clear system for job costing. They didn’t know which jobs made money and which ones were killing their cash flow.

When we fixed that? Boom — clarity, cash, and confidence.

Fixing It Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

You don’t need a fancy ERP or massive team. You need:

A consistent system
Integration between your field team and financials
Weekly job tracking reviews
Clear labor and material codes per job

Start simple, stay consistent, and check your margins before you quote another job.

📘 Want to See All 12 Mistakes?

If this mistake hit a little too close to home, you’re not alone — and you don’t have to fix it all by yourself. This is just one of the 12 biggest mistakes construction business owners make (and how to fix them).

🎯 Download the full guide: https://www.gentryharper.com/12mistakes Let’s get your business profitable, protected, and positioned for growth.